Preadolescence is a transitional stage between childhood and adolescence characterized by rapid and erratic change. Preadolescent girls are particularly vulnerable to negative impacts to self-concept and adaptability and may benefit from support to strengthen these key aspects of their development. School-based expressive arts groups provide a developmentally appropriate opportunity for preadolescent girls to process their thoughts, feelings, and experiences that can influence their self-concept and adaptability. Additionally, providing expressive arts groups from a career perspective provides participants a three-fold developmental intervention that includes components of the personal/social, academic, and career domains. Lindo and Ceballos combined the Career Construction Interview (CCI) with expressive arts school-based group counseling to create a developmentally appropriate intervention called the Child and Adolescent Career Construction Interview (CACCI). This study examined preadolescent girls' perceptions of participated in a CACCI group. Analysis of data yielded four major themes: (a) experiencing, (b) connecting, (c) expressing, and (d) becoming. Finding of this study have the potential to inform developmentally appropriate career counseling for preadolescents.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the possible relationship between social interest and marital adjustment in a selected group of married couples. Another variable relating to spiritual well-being and religious participation is also considered. In the studies reviewed, the concept of social interest as proposed by Adler has been supported as a psychological construct. It has generally correlated with characteristics that are viewed as social interest components. By contrast, it has generally related negatively with characteristics that are inconsistent with the concept. Of the investigations conducted, most have focused on the relationship between social interest and some aspect of individual functioning, such as psychological well-being, health, mood states, and locus of control. There has been little investigation between social interest and some aspect of individual functioning, such as psychological well-being, health, mood states and locus of control. There has been little investigation between social interest and marital satisfaction and, additionally, the possible relationship to religious participation. The results of this study support a positive relationship between social interest and marital satisfaction, a positive relationship[ between social interest and religious participation, and a positive relationship between marital satisfaction and religious participation.

The problem of this study was to analyze the effects of contingent reinforcement on the presence of thoughts defined as anxiety responses. The two types of data, observed and introceptive, were used to determine the effects of reinforcement. The observed data from the peripheral physiological pre- and post-measures included heart rate, blood pressure, and the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale data. The introceptive data supplied by subjects were the daily percentages of anxious thought detections subsequent to a baseline period. The daily percentages were formed by the subject's monitoring his own thoughts, with the monitoring prompted by an automatic tone device which emitted a tone approximately every four minutes. The daily percentage of anxious thoughts was formed by dividing the number of tones the subject heard into the number of anxious thoughts occurring at the time of the tone.The problem of this study was to analyze the effects of contingent reinforcement on the presence of thoughts defined as anxiety responses. The two types of data, observed and introceptive, were used to determine the effects of reinforcement. The observed data from the peripheral physiological pre- and post-measures included heart rate, blood pressure, and the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale data. The introceptive data …

This study was designed to assess the effects of a peer ministry training course upon adolescents' ability to respond empathetically and upon their level of moral development. Volunteers from a church's high school group were blocked by gender and randomly divided into two groups . Adolescents in the treatment group were trained in thirteen sessions basic helping skills (emphasizing empathy) and measured before and after training on variables of empathy, moral development, and internality - externality. Adolescents in the second group were used as a control and were measured with the same assessment devices.

The purpose of this study was to seek an understanding of the problem of low morale among Catholic priests based on the principles of Individual Psychology. The relationship of Adlerian life-style and social interest to job satisfaction among 210 pastors randomly selected from 13 of the 14 Catholic dioceses in Texas was investigated. The Life-style Personality Inventory (LSPI) was used to measure the Adlerian life-style. The Social Interest Scale (SIS) was used to measure the Adlerian concept of social interest. The Job Descriptive Index (JDI) was used to measure job satisfaction.

This is a study conducted in Zimbabwe which compared a group of 50 zvirvere zvechivanhu patients and a group of 50 non-patients in age, sex, marital status, level of education and claims of spirit possession. Claims of spirit possessions and types of spirits, as pointed out by Bennel (1982), were used as symptoms of zvirwere zvechivanhu. The two groups were also compared in symptom dimensions of the SCL-90-R used in the study. The SCL-90-R, developed by Derogatis (1975), is a 90-item symptom check list used to screen people for psychological problems reflected in the nine symptom dimensions of somatization, obsessive/ compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, psychoticism and in the three global scores of Global Severity Index, Positive Symptom Distress Index and Positive Symptom Total. The subjects were chosen from two different sites, using a systematic sampling method. Three statistical methods were used to analyze the data. The Chi-square was used to analyze data on descriptive variables. The T-test and 2 x 2 analysis of variance were used to analyze the data on symptom dimensions and global scores. The study had one main hypothesis and nine subhypotheses. The main hypothesis was that zvirwere zvechivanhu patients were …

This study examined the effects of Control Theory training upon self-concept and locus of control among students enrolled in the Provisional Admission Program (PAP) at the University of Texas at Arlington. Twenty-nine students randomly assigned to treatment or placebo control groups took the Coppersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (CSSEI-A) and the Adult Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Locus of Control Scale (ANSIE) as pre- and posttests. Participants in the placebo control group attended their regular educational program for the same amount of time given to the treatment group. No significant differences were found on the Analysis of Covariance for CSSEI—A or ANSIE scores following the training period. CSSEI-A and ANSIE scores were elevated, indicating that PAP students think of themselves internally as do other college students, regardless of their SAT scores. The results of this study indicate that Control Theory training is insignificantly effective in producing changes in the self-concept and locus of control among PAP students. Control Theory research may need to be carried out with a smaller group size, use larger samples, provide more time to address the issues specific to PAP student needs, include a stronger counseling emphasis to meet their needs, use more sensitive instruments to detect such changes, and allow …

This study examined the relationship among the factors of parental stress, marital adjustment, life event stress, and behavior problems of children and whether the sources and levels of parental stress, marital adjustment, and life event stress differed among families of children with . behavior problems and families whose children did not experience behavior problems. The subjects for this study were 60 mothers and their children from the North Texas metropolitan area chosen from two populations. Group I was composed of mothers of 30 children referred to a university related counseling center for behavior problems. Group II was composed of 30 mothers of children identified as not experiencing difficulty. Each mother completed the Parenting Stress Index (PSI), Short Marital Adjustment Test (SMAT), and Social Readjustment Rating Questionnaire (SRRQ). Hotellings T tests were used to determine whether the groups differed on sources and levels of parenting stress, marital adjustment, and life event stress. The groups differed significantly on the variables of sources and levels of parenting stress but not on marital adjustment or life event stress. The multiple regression technique was used to determine which variable or combination of variables would predict group membership. Parenting stress was found to be the best …

The problem of this study was the determination of the relationship between Myers-Briggs personality temperament and extraversion-introversion, and group counseling norms, as reflected by the group counseling outcome measures: Survey of Attraction to Group, self and leader-report Interpersonal Relationship Rating Scale (IRRS), and Sociometric Choice Status Survey. The Mvers-Briggs Temperament Indicator (MBTI) and the four outcome measures were administered to a sample population of 103 graduate and undergraduate counselor education students after completion of a semester-long group counseling experience. Fifteen groups of five to nine members were surveyed. It was expected that group members whose temperaments were compatible with group counseling norms would be more likely to receive confirmation, support, and acceptance in the group, be attracted to the group, receive higher leader and self-report ratings of interpersonal skills, and be more highly valued by other members than would members whose temperaments were incompatible with group norms. It was also thought that extraverts were more likely to be attracted to the group, receive higher self and leader ratings of interpersonal skills, and to be more highly valued by other members than were introverts. No significant relationship was found between temperament and the four outcome measures. Possible explanations for this finding …

The problem of this study was to identify variables in the family environment that may describe depressed adolescents' families. This study was based on Adlerian theory. The Family Environment Scale (FES) was used to measure the family atmosphere. The Lifestyle Scale (LS) was used to examine the adolescent's unique system of beliefs, values, and attitudes. The Internal-External Locus of Control Scale (IE) was used to measure the extent of external control exhibited by the adolescents and their parents. The subjects of this study were 31 depressed adolescents from 2 suburban psychiatric hospitals and one of each of the adolescent's parents. The subjects were from a homogeneous socioeconomic population showing no significant variation in the demographic categories of sex, race, chronological birth order, or marital status of the parents. Scores were compared with normative data. Product moment correlations were calculated between the results of the subscales on the 3 instruments. A principal components factor analysis was performed to determine if any patterns existed.

This study compared divorced custodial mothers and mothers married to the biological fathers of their children on parenting stress, parenting skills, and self-esteem. The relationship between parenting stress, parenting skills, self-esteem, marital status, and life satisfaction was also examined. A total of 63 subjects, including 31 married mothers and 32 single mothers, was administered the Parenting Stress Index, the Parenting Skills Inventory, and the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. Subjects also completed a Demographic Data Sheet that included a Likert-type scale designed by the researcher to measure current life satisfaction. All subjects either attended church or lived in a geographic area of North Central Texas that is generally recognized as being somewhat affluent. No significant differences were found on the t-tests comparing the mean total scores of the married and divorced mothers on levels of parenting stress, parenting skills, and self-esteem. A post hoc t-test revealed, however, that the group of married mothers had significantly higher mean total scores on the life satisfaction measure than the group of divorced mothers. Additionally, life satisfaction was found to be associated with parenting stress, parenting skills, self-esteem, and marital status. Specificallly, (a) as parenting stress increases, life satisfaction decreases, (b) as parenting skills increase, life …

This study utilized ethnomethodology to provide a description of the process and the effect of training counselors to incorporate the concepts and techniques of Individual Psychology into play therapy. Transcripts of the training program and of three individual interviews with the nine counselors who participated in the training were made. These transcripts and the journals in which the subjects were asked to chronicle their personal experiences and reactions to the training were qualitatively analyzed. This analysis indicated that most of the subjects reported that their attitudes toward play therapy, toward themselves as play therapists, and toward their play therapy clients had changed after their participation in the Adlerian play therapy training. The majority of subjects also reported that they perceived that their behavior in their play therapy sessions had changed, frequently in the direction of including more creative and active techniques. Qualitative analysis of the transcripts made from videotaped play therapy sessions by the researcher and an outside evaluator indicated that, while some of the counselors' behaviors seemed to have changed after the training, many of the counselors' behaviors did not appear to have been affected by their participation in the training. Possible explanations of the discrepancy between the counselors' …

The Adolescent Discouragement Indicator (ADI) was developed to assess the Adlerian construct of discouragement. The 75-item ADI contains five subscales corresponding to the five life tasks specified in Individual Psychology and is specifically designed to pinpoint the area and degree of adolescent discouragement. Item selection was based on ratings by five prominent Adlerians and item correlation with subscale scores. Age and sex norms for the ADI were established on 225 females and 299 males 12 to 18 years of age. Findings indicate that female adolescents are less discouraged than male adolescents on all scales except the love scale and both sexes reported the least amount of discouragment on the love scale. The only significant difference among the age groups is between the 13-year-olds and the 15, 16, and 17-year-olds on the love scale. An internal consistency coefficient of .95, a 2-week test-retest coefficient of .89, and a 4-week test-retest coefficient of .92 indicates that the ADI is a reliable instrument. Negative and significant (p < .001) correlations between the ADI and Social Interest Index (Greever, Tseng, & Friedland, 1973) and between the ADI and the Social Interest Scale (Crandall, 1975) contribute to construct validity and support Adler's belief that discouragement …

This study investigated the relationship between maladaptive behavior, defined as referral to counseling, and the Adlerian construct of birth order. The birth order variables examined were ordinal position, sex of subject, family density, family size, socio-economic status, intactness of family, age of mother, and sex of sibling. The subjects in this study were 217 school-aged children with academic and/or behavior problems who were referred to an interdisciplinary guidance center. The subjects were assigned to counseling or no-counseling groups on the basis of an interdisciplinary evaluation and staffing, which included an extensive battery of academic and psychological tests.

The purpose of this study is to compare the drug abusing adolescent, along with his family, with a non-drug abusing adolescent and his family by (l) a comparison of the adolescents on measures of self esteem and perceived parental behavior, (2) a comparison of the parents of drug abusing adolescents with the parents of non-drug abusing adolescents on child-rearing attitudes and on distortion in perceived parental behavior, and (3) an identification of the salient factors contributing to the prediction of drug-using behavior in adolescents. The adolescent's self esteem, his perception of parental behavior, the ability of the parents to predict the child's parental perceptions, and the professed parental attitudes toward confidence and responsibility in child-rearing, all combine to suggest a set of factors differentiating the drug abusing adolescent from the non-drug abusing adolescent.

The problem of this study was the negative or positive effects of a partially structured Christian marriage enrichment weekend upon marital communication, marital adjustment, and purpose in life. The results indicated that on all four tests both groups improved significantly over a two-month period but not over a one-week period. The general conclusions to be drawn are two-fold. First, a partially structured Christian marriage enrichment weekend, namely Enjoying Marriage, will probably help a couple improve in communication, adjustment, and purpose in life. Second, only on adjustment and purpose in life can one say that such improvement is based specifically upon the content of the weekend. The reason for this is that a weekend retreat group who received no treatment on marriage also improved in communication and on one specific type of marital adjustment as measured by the Polyfactor Sentence Completion Survey.

Subjects were 2,950 patients who had previously received inpatient treatment for substance abuse at 40 treatment centers in 13 states and were followed up by the Chemical Abuse/Addiction Treatment Outcome Registry (CATOR) via telephone during the 2 years immediately following their treatment. All subjects were contacted every 6 months and asked a series of questions regarding their relapse status, medical utilization, illnesses, injuries, and arrests. Patient status was based on 3 categories: (1) abstinence from any abuse of a chemical, (2) brief relapse of less than 3 months abuse of any chemical, or (3) total relapse of longer than 3 months of any chemical. Findings showed that abstainers had fewer days in the hospital for emotional problems and detoxification. Abstainers also had fewer visits to the hospital for emergency reasons. Males in the brief relapse category had a greater number of injuries than abstainers or total relapsers. Regarding arrests and automobile accidents, no difference was discovered. However, regarding Drunk While Driving (DWI) arrests, abstainers had fewer arrests.

This study utilized an ethnographic methodology to examine and describe the various aspects and processes occurring in a children's group as the members created their own puppets and accompanying puppet plays. Individual and interactive behavior patterns were isolated and analyzed as a means of gaining an in depth understanding of the puppetry process. The puppetry process, in turn, was viewed in terms of information it provided regarding the individual members and the group process. The facilitative and non-facilitative aspects of the procedure were delineated. The adult leader met with a group of six boys, in grades four and five, for 12 one-hour sessions in which they made puppets and then created puppet plays around issues that they had articulated as problems. The group sessions were videotaped and transcribed. The transcriptions were coded in an effort to extensively analyze the puppetry process and the group process, and the ways in which the two processes interacted. An independent observer/rater was utilized in order to provide some validity for the researcher's reported results. The puppet-making task appeared to offer an opportunity for individuals to begin to come together in a common, but individual task. Characteristic styles and individual personality dynamics were evidenced. General …

This study examined the effects of an Adlerian-based parent education program on parental stress and perception of Learning Disabled (LD) childrens' behavior. Forty parents, randomly assigned to treatment or waiting-list control groups, took the Parental Stress Index (PSI) and the Adlerian Parental Assessment of Child Behavior Rating Scale (APACBS) as pre and post tests. Parents in the treatment group attended a six-session Active Parenting program. No significant differences were found on the analysis of covariance for perceived parental stress following the parent education program. Seventy percent of the parents in this study had total PSI scores in the range defined as high stress by the PSI author. All of the PSI Child Domain pretest z scores were elevated indicating that parents perceive their LD children to be demanding, moody, distractible, and unadaptable. LD children's behavior is perceived as unacceptable and does not positively reinforce parents. The elevated z scores on the PSI parent Domain pretest indicate that parents of LD children feel less competent as parents and experience less attachment to their children than do parents of normal children. No significant differences were found on the APACBS following treatment, but 80 percent of the parents in the treatment group did …

Little research has been done on the personality of internal auditors. However, there does exist a negative stereotype. They are seen as hostile and unsympathetic. The purpose of this research was to see if the negative stereotype was indeed true and to see if undesirable behavior could be changed through training.

This study investigated the relationships among the variables of parental stress, parental attitude, and preschoolers' academic, social and emotional maturity. The purposes of the investigation were to measure the relationship between parental stress and parental attitude, and to determine whether parental attitude and parental stress differed in their ability to predict preschoolers' behavioral maturity.

This study examined the relationship between love attitude and marital adjustment across five stages of the marital life-cycle in Nigerian society. The subjects for this study were 202 volunteers from six protestant churches representing six cities in the southern part of Nigeria. An average of 20 couples were representatives of each of the five marital life-cycles. Each of the subjects completed the Love Attitude Inventory (LAI), and the Marital Adjustment Test (short form) (MAT). Wilk's multivariate analysis revealed no significant differences between husbands' and wives' love attitude and marital adjustment across the five stages of the marital life cycle. Multivariate analysis split-plot 5.2 with repeated measures revealed no significant difference for the total sample among the groups, but indicated a significant difference between love attitude and marital adjustment for the total sample using sex as a factor. A univariate test of the MAT and LAI indicated that the MAT accounted for the difference. A canonical correlation indicated a significant positive relationship between husbands1 and wives' marital adjustment and love attitude within each of the five groups. The findings suggest that husbands and wives included in this study have a good understanding of their roles in the marriage relationship and that …

The problem of this study was to assess the impact of growing up in an alcoholic family on adult personality strengths and to determine the perceived levels of autonomy and intimacy in the family of origin. The sample consisted of 115 volunteers, 84 women and 31 men, ages 22 years and older, who had at least one alcoholic parent. The 16 Personality Factor Questionnaires (16 PF) and the Family of Origin Scale (FOS) were administered. A 1 X 3 Chi Square Goodness of Fit analysis was used on each of the 16 personality factors to determine the personality strengths of adult children of alcoholics (ACA). A simple discriminate function analysis was used to determine the degree to which assessed strengths on the 16 PF discriminated self-reported levels of autonomy and intimacy in the family of origin. A multiple regression analysis was used to determine which 16 PF were more closely related to perceived autonomy and intimacy in the family of origin as measured by the FOS.

This study examined the effects of Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) on affection, communication, and relationship between elderly parents and their assisting adult children. Twenty-eight pairs of parents and children were randomly assigned to treatment or control groups. Subjects took Quinn's Family Life Questionnaire as pre-, post-, and follow-up tests. Parents and children in the treatment groups attended a four-session STEP workshop. No significant differences were found on the 2 x 2 analysis of variance for repeated measures for the parents or adult children. Quinn's affection and relationship variables approached significance for the parents over time. His variable affection approached significance for the children over time, irrespective of group. Agreement approached significance for children in the treatment group. The results for the parents regarding affection suggest that the study may have emphasized their feelings of trust. Although the data for relationship approached significance, it was negative, indicating that parents in the treatment group may have reduced their interaction with their assisting children perhaps because they were learning new communication skills. The data for the children regarding affection approached significance, but it was negative, suggesting they felt free to question their feelings about themselves and their parents. The results for …